James Grasby is a curator for houses and landscapes across the National Trust, and over a long career has worked on every kind of historic property: from farms in Snowdonia, to treasure houses, their collections and gardens including Kingston Lacy, Stourhead and Montacute; from the homes of the author and poet Thomas Hardy, Lawrence of Arabia, and the composer Sir Edward Elgar to engineering marvels including one of the world’s first suspension bridges, now in the Trust’s care, in Conwy. James is passionate about the charity’s role in conserving extraordinary places for public benefit, and in providing different forms of access and pleasure for visitors (without spoiling the surprises).